Archived Search Marketing Blog for KoMarketing Associates

Big Three Support For A Sitemaps Protocol

Its worth noting that the big three search engines, Google, Yahoo and MSN are joining together to collaborate on a unified sitemaps program.  You can find out more of the program at sitemaps.org, which is offered under the terms of the Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License.  This post is one the myriad of posts out there on the topic, so to find more information and commentary, here's a link to Google's official announcement on their webmaster blog and Yahoo's post as well..

 

Google’s Phone connection Extends Search

I’ve always been very curious about using Search as a way to find local business information. Yes, there is another way and it called the phone book, but to the newest generation of consumers such as my own kids they find it “way too slow”. I still keep the phone book handy and suggest they look there first but they complain it’s too hard. And with the latest “beta” test of a new Google feature it's getting even closer to making the yellow book really old fashioned. Google has added a new feature to lookup a business over the phone, it works by calling 1-877-466-4411 (1 877 GOOG 411), and you can get an automated directory assistance based on their local search listings. Here’s a quick product walk thru.

Call the number and the first prompt is for city and state. It will confirm if the location is right and then ask for a business name or description. Now here the fun begins. If someone doesn’t know or remember the exact name they can say simple words like “pizza” and what is returned is the same top three search results you would find at the Google website (if you used search terms like "pizza waltham ma"). This is linked up with their “Local Search” program that also ties into the mapping program and allows the business to create/edit their own listing information. So it reads back to you the top three listings and pauses to ask you if you wish to text message or have them call the business. I’d suspect that someday instead of paying per clicks on ads we will be a paying per call. Considering this could be a replacement for the 411 fees charged to phone user, gaining popular support should be an easy task.

If your business is a total Internet only business model and has no local “presence”, then being concerned about a Local Search (and Phone extension) could be irrelevant. But don’t stop reading yet. We have a large client that lists used farm equipment for sale and doesn’t have a storefront or retail presence, sort of a on-line directory website. So they may not need to worry about a local search strategy, right? But wait, their business partners do have a local operations so integration of their search marketing tactics is a very important thing. So when a farmer is stranded in a cornfield in Iowa and calls directory assistance for a quick tractor replacement, wouldn’t you want him to hear your business mentioned at the top? So maybe paying attention to this development is not a bad thing, except that the phone book will even get even lonelier at my house.

Open letter to Google Regarding Changes to The Ad Words Program

Here's a recent thread that can be found on WebMasterWorld, where they typically do not endorse or run such posts, but the subject it's on the minds of many advertisers who work extensively with Google Adwords PPC. 

Google Increases Market Share By Providing Better Search

The latest statistics from Hitwise are in for May, and as the title says: "Google Crushes Competition" with almost a 60% hold on the search market.  With MSN Adcenter finally unveiled, and Yahoo looking to significantly revamp it's own search advertising toolsets by the beginning of the 4th quarter, it will be interesting to see if this hold can continue through 2007. 

But the additional significance to this infers one other underlying theme: Google organic search is better.  At least better than MSN and Yahoo for the time being.  More people use it because more people find the results they want when using Google versus the rest of the industry. This is the soft-sell of the industry - organic search results establish the value of where people search.   Better organic search leads to more visitors entering queries, leading to more people ultimately clicking search advertisements.  While providing a more efficient advertising engine will help the bottom line quarter to quarter (and the stock price), it will not help the competition gain market share.  If search engines like Yahoo and MSN really want to attract more visitors, the answer lies in improving organic search.

Consider the following factors:

• Brand Loyalty: Pew Internet & American Life Project's (PIALP) 2005 study of multiple search engine use shows that 48% of users use 2 or 3 search engines, and 44% use only one engine.  But, of that 44%, a study from ICrossing in coordination with Harris Interactive shows that only 13% of total users (or one-third of the single search engine user base) use Google exclusively.  This compares to 10% favoring MSN and 7% using Yahoo.  We may see a shift as one can infer that MSN has a higher share based on being the default search application for Windows-based PC's and Dell's new partnership integrating Google Search Technology into Dell PC's, but the fact of the matter is that you would assume a higher brand loyalty to Google, given a 60% total market share for clicks.
  
• Consumer Confidence:  The same study by PIALP shows that 68% of searches believe that search engines produce "fair and unbiased sources of information" and 92% of users are confident in their ability to "search" for the information they want.  So, users not only trust search results to be effective, for the most part, but also are comfortable in using search tools to find their results.
  
• PPC as a percentage of Clicks: Over 75% of all B2B searchers use organic results over paid results, according to a 2004 study by Enquiro.  And JupiterResearch confirms approximately a 70% share of clicks for organic results versus paid results for the market as a whole.
  
• Awareness of Paid Advertisements and The Users Willingness to Put Up With Them
  Maybe Yahoo should consider this statistic as they continue the integration of search results and paid placement/paid advertisement.  54% of Google users are aware of paid ads (as they are clearly titled and organized), while 42% are aware in Yahoo, and 36% in MSN.  The startling statistic is that, according to PIALP, 45% of users would stop using a search engine, if they weren't clear about which results were paid or organic.

In Summary:

• Brand loyalty between engines is not very high - and users will use multiple search engines to get results they want
• Users are comfortable with search engine technology in general
• Organic search results drive at least 70% of all search traffic by search engines
• There is a distinct statistical argument against merging commercial, paid advertising directly into organic results.  Users want unbiased search results.

If search engines like MSN and Yahoo really want to make a dent in the search market, it's through an investment in better organic search that will lead the way through the long-term.  Optimizing paid advertising helps with the bottom line today, but focusing on this at the exclusion of organic search improvement ignores the opportunity to attract a larger percentage of clicks from an audience that is constantly demanding better organic search and not necessarily better advertisements.

Yahoo Partners with eBay - The Competitive Landscape May Shift

In the news today, Yahoo and eBay, joining forces to provide collaborative services amongst two of the largest, most trafficked sites on the World Wide Web (first and fifth respectively - according to Alexa traffic data).  The search landscape is changing, as market leaders look to partner with other major content providers, integrating search technology, cross-linking ad networks, and offering collaborative services. 

Pubcon 2006 - Thoughts and Review

Some thoughts on Pubcon 2006 here in Boston this April.

First - I definitely want to travel out of state for the next SEO conference I go to.  Too much temptation to handle pressing work related material versus actually learning from the industry.

Things I didn't do and wish I did do:

1. I missed Malcolm Gladwell's speech - heard that he is an excellent presenter and gave a nice opening presentation
2. Should have hit some of the Affiliate sessions, heard that there was a nice buzz going on there.
3. Everyone who went to "Forensic and Competitive Intelligence" thought it was a great session.  I'll be looking forward to the PPT's and information, but wish I had made it as well
4. While I did get to meet some really fantastic individuals, I still could have met more - won't make the same mistake next year or next conference

Thoughts and Opinions:

• I attended both link building presentations (Tuesdays and Wednesday's).  The first was alright - it's hard to break down a person/company's website in 10 minutes or so.  Peter Davis gave a nice breakdown on some of the material on his Web Marketing Blog.  I can empathize with the one SEO who was having problems getting material/cooperation from the Pharma client - I don't think the situation is an unusual one.  Wednesday's was better as it related to actual do's and don't about linking in general.  I felt all 4 speakers did a great job in their presentations
• Great blog session to open up Wednesday morning.  It was enjoyable to hear three popular and influential bloggers talk about their motivation, opinions on blogging and miscellaneous thoughts on the blogosphere.  I can't say that I had read Robert Scoble's blog before, but really enjoyed his candor and am now a regular reader because of it. 
• I was impressed with the Public Relations session, especially given the fact that two of the presenters, Robin Liss and Lawrence Coburn really gave some personal examples of what has made their businesses successful.  Both were great presenters as well and I am glad I decided to head to that session.
• Finally, it is always exciting to meet intelligent people in search and Internet marketing/development.  Best of luck in the future and I'm sure we'll be in touch.

Microsoft to Buy Yahoo

A recent article in Forbes over the overvaluation of Google speculates that Yahoo, the long-time and distant second fiddle in the search industry, and much lower valued in terms of stock price, could be a possible acquisition target for Microsoft, the third tier engine in the industry (but far behind at around 10% market share).  This comes from the comments of UBS Analyst Benjamin Schachter, but is also based on the relatively low stock price of Yahoo at the moment, and assumes the price does not appreciate considerably in the near future.

Would it make sense? 

It seems unlikely given the fact that Microsoft has invested so much in their own search technology, infrastructure and in new developments.  MSN is also slated to unveil it's own investment in PPC later this summer.  The merger would also force two companies to consolidate Interent product lines (potentially) such as email, personal pages, groups and other services.

But we know that both companies have been reasonably successful at merging acquisitions before.  Also, it was not too long ago that MSN Search was driven by the Inktomi search technology that Yahoo acquired, and we know who currently runs the MSN PPC ad network. 

An interesting article and theory for those of us in the SEO world, as it relates to managing the success of our clients across the three major engines.

Search Engine Ranking Factors

Adding to the previous post, SEOmoz has a great SEO article which lists over 50 various factors, disbuted and undisbuted, that will or may affect search engine rankings.  They are broken down by importance, deviation, and consensus, as well as adding commentary and description.  Best of all, the contributors to the article include industry leaders such as Danny Sullivan, Dan Theis and Jill Whalen. 

The article makes two good points in that first, "...it is impossible to say for certain which of these items affects which search engine or how important the factors are individually..." and second "These represent the opinions of myself ...and those who have checked the work of this document".  That being said, it's a great resource for SEO both long and short-term. 

You've Lost Your Google Rankings

It happens to all of us who build, manage or provide marketing for a website that utilizes Google for part, or all, of their traffic.  One day, we wake up, fire up our PC, Mac or Laptop, jump around our favorite search engine (AltaVista...just kidding), and realize that our site has disappeared for our favorite ranking, maybe two, maybe all of them.  It causes your gut to clench, gives you a mild migraine, and may ruin your focus for the greater portion of the day.  As search engines continue to tweak their algorithms, update the indexes and deal with the latest uprising of spam agents and black hat SEO's, this is sure to happen to almost all of us in the upcoming months.

Before you start scouring the message boards, keyword stuffing your pages and spending your afternoon figuring out how to rewrite your URL's to eliminate underscores, consider the following immediate actions:

• Take a deep breath
• Verify that your Titles, Meta Tags, and Headings are not repetitive forms of keyword stuffing
• If you use a separate designer, design shop etc, check to make sure that something hasn't slipped up - hidden text, hidden layers, microscopic fonts.  These are killers in the SEO world.  Mouse over your complete homepage and primary landing pages to check for sure.
• Is your content written for your users first?  This is an important question and gets difficult to quantify, especially when your competition keyword stuffs, creates pages of textual nonsense and is now beating you in your rankings.  For long-term results, your users, not search engines, should be the ones you are communicating to.
• Check your backlinks - make sure that your link partners haven't been engaging in link farms, poor link exchanges, spam tactics etc.

The bottom line is that if you are doing everything with the user in mind, it may be a temporary issue.  Your site may just be being temporarily affected by an index update.  In many cases, we see sites dip in their rankings for a few days, only to reappear once the new sites in the search engine database have been added to the complete search index.  If your rankings don't appear in a few days, it's then that you may want to re-evaluate your strategies.  But over-optimization can hurt you just as much as spam tactics and black hat techniques.  Just because you don't use breadcrumbs doesn't mean that Google can't index your pages.

Here are some links to resources that provide more in-depth information on reasons you may have dropped from Google or other Search Engine rankings.  Remember though, the search engine world seems to change daily, and what was once accurate information a year ago, may not be the same today.

• Confirming a Penalty in Google (2/2006)
• Dropped from Google - a checklist to find out why (Thread started 5/2005)
• Common SEO Mistakes
• Latest Search Engine Spam Techniques (8/2004)
• SEO Advice: Check Your Site (3/2006)

More Thought on Google Finance

As I took more time to go through the Google Finance website, I wanted to point out that there are some very cool tools found once you get to the stock/financial information pages.  Features such as the drag feature of historical stock price information, mouseover pictures and a decent organizational layout, help make the entire subsite more appealing. 

That being said, I still feel that the overall useability of the site is lacking.  Users are not, and should not have to guess at what something does.  Because I am used to some of the Google feature sets, it makes sense that certain funcationality works the way it does.  That being said, it's not obvious to all users.

The overall summation lies in this question: At what point are these new beta programs really about bringing value to the end user, the customer, or the company?  With so many new beta programs, designs and new features, it feels like the underlying mission is just bringing more PR and traffic to the general website, without delivering (at least yet) the long-term value solutions that keep users loyal.  Don't get me wrong, I find some of the beta ideas to be great - Sitemaps, Maps, Local etc - just not all of them.